Narrowband IoT: from the end device to the cloud. An experimental end-to-end study

This thesis is about a novel study and experimentation of a Cloud IoT application, communicating over a NB-IoT Italian network. So far there no been presented studies, which are about the interactions between the NB-IoT network and the cloud. This thesis not only fill this gap but also shows the use of Cognitive Services to interact, through the human voice, with the IoT application. Compared with other types of mobile networks, NB-IoT is the best choice

Improving Frequency Reuse and Cochannel Interference Coordination in 4G HetNets

This report describes my M.A.Sc. thesis research work. The emerging 4th generation (4G) mobile systems and networks (so called 4G HetNets) are designed as multilayered cellular topology with a number of asymmetrically located, asymmetrically powered, self-organizing, and user-operated indoor small cell (e.g., pico/femto cells and WLANs) with a variety of cell architectures that are overlaid by a large cell (macro cell) with some or all interfering wireless links. These designs of 4G HetNets bring new challenges such as increased dynamics of user mobility and data traffic trespassing over the multi-layered cell boundaries. Traditional approaches of radio resource allocation and inter-cell (cochannel) interference management that are mostly centralized and static in the network core and are carried out pre-hand by the operator in 3G and lower cellular technologies, are liable to increased signaling overhead, latencies, complexities, and scalability issues and, thus, are not viable in case of 4G HetNets. In this thesis a comprehensive research study is carried out on improving the radio resource sharing and inter-cell interference management in 4G HetNets. The solution strategy exploits dynamic and adaptive channel allocation approaches such as dynamic and opportunistic spectrum access (DSA, OSA) techniques, through exploiting the spatiotemporal diversities among transmissions in orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) based medium access in 4G HetNets. In this regards, a novel framework named as Hybrid Radio Resource Sharing (HRRS) is introduced. HRRS comprises of these two functional modules: Cognitive Radio Resource Sharing (CRRS) and Proactive Link Adaptation (PLA) scheme. A dynamic switching algorithm enables CRRS and PLA modules to adaptively invoke according to whether orthogonal channelization is to be carried out exploiting the interweave channel allocation (ICA) approach or non-orthogonal channelization is to be carried out exploiting the underlay channel allocation (UCA) approach respectively when relevant conditions regarding the traffic demand and radio resource availability are met. Benefits of CRRS scheme are identified through simulative analysis in comparison to the legacy cochannel and dedicated channel deployments of femto cells respectively. The case study and numerical analysis for PLA scheme is carried out to understand the dynamics of threshold interference ranges as function of transmit powers of MBS and FBS, relative ranges of radio entities, and QoS requirement of services with the value realization of PLA scheme.1 yea

Quality-Oriented Mobility Management for Multimedia Content Delivery to Mobile Users

The heterogeneous wireless networking environment determined by the latest developments in wireless access technologies promises a high level of communication resources for mobile computational devices. Although the communication resources provided, especially referring to bandwidth, enable multimedia streaming to mobile users, maintaining a high user perceived quality is still a challenging task. The main factors which affect quality in multimedia streaming over wireless networks are mainly the error-prone nature of the wireless channels and the user mobility. These factors determine a high level of dynamics of wireless communication resources, namely variations in throughput and packet loss as well as network availability and delays in delivering the data packets. Under these conditions maintaining a high level of quality, as perceived by the user, requires a quality oriented mobility management scheme. Consequently we propose the Smooth Adaptive Soft-Handover Algorithm, a novel quality oriented handover management scheme which unlike other similar solutions, smoothly transfer the data traffic from one network to another using multiple simultaneous connections. To estimate the capacity of each connection the novel Quality of Multimedia Streaming (QMS) metric is proposed. The QMS metric aims at offering maximum flexibility and efficiency allowing the applications to fine tune the behavior of the handover algorithm. The current simulation-based performance evaluation clearly shows the better performance of the proposed Smooth Adaptive Soft-Handover Algorithm as compared with other handover solutions. The evaluation was performed in various scenarios including multiple mobile hosts performing handover simultaneously, wireless networks with variable overlapping areas, and various network congestion levels

Development and Experimental Analysis of Wireless High Accuracy Ultra-Wideband Localization Systems for Indoor Medical Applications

This dissertation addresses several interesting and relevant problems in the field of wireless technologies applied to medical applications and specifically problems related to ultra-wideband high accuracy localization for use in the operating room. This research is cross disciplinary in nature and fundamentally builds upon microwave engineering, software engineering, systems engineering, and biomedical engineering. A good portion of this work has been published in peer reviewed microwave engineering and biomedical engineering conferences and journals. Wireless technologies in medicine are discussed with focus on ultra-wideband positioning in orthopedic surgical navigation. Characterization of the operating room as a medium for ultra-wideband signal transmission helps define system design requirements. A discussion of the first generation positioning system provides a context for understanding the overall system architecture of the second generation ultra-wideband positioning system outlined in this dissertation. A system-level simulation framework provides a method for rapid prototyping of ultra-wideband positioning systems which takes into account all facets of the system (analog, digital, channel, experimental setup). This provides a robust framework for optimizing overall system design in realistic propagation environments. A practical approach is taken to outline the development of the second generation ultra-wideband positioning system which includes an integrated tag design and real-time dynamic tracking of multiple tags. The tag and receiver designs are outlined as well as receiver-side digital signal processing, system-level design support for multi-tag tracking, and potential error sources observed in dynamic experiments including phase center error, clock jitter and drift, and geometric position dilution of precision. An experimental analysis of the multi-tag positioning system provides insight into overall system performance including the main sources of error. A five base station experiment shows the potential of redundant base stations in improving overall dynamic accuracy. Finally, the system performance in low signal-to-noise ratio and non-line-of-sight environments is analyzed by focusing on receiver-side digitally-implemented ranging algorithms including leading-edge detection and peak detection. These technologies are aimed at use in next-generation medical systems with many applications including surgical navigation, wireless telemetry, medical asset tracking, and in vivo wireless sensors

Cognitive Radio Systems

Cognitive radio is a hot research area for future wireless communications in the recent years. In order to increase the spectrum utilization, cognitive radio makes it possible for unlicensed users to access the spectrum unoccupied by licensed users. Cognitive radio let the equipments more intelligent to communicate with each other in a spectrum-aware manner and provide a new approach for the co-existence of multiple wireless systems. The goal of this book is to provide highlights of the current research topics in the field of cognitive radio systems. The book consists of 17 chapters, addressing various problems in cognitive radio systems

Comparative study and performance evaluation of MC-CDMA and OFDM over AWGN and fading channels environment

Η απαίτηση για εφαρμογές υψηλής ταχύτητας μετάδοσης δεδομένων έχει αυξηθεί σημαντικά τα τελευταία χρόνια. Η πίεση των χρηστών σήμερα για ταχύτερες επικοινωνίες, ανεξαρτήτως κινητής ή σταθερής, χωρίς επιπλέον κόστος είναι μια πραγματικότητα. Για να πραγματοποιηθούν αυτές οι απαιτήσεις, προτάθηκε ένα νέο σχήμα που συνδυάζει ψηφιακή διαμόρφωση και πολλαπλές προσβάσεις, για την ακρίβεια η Πολλαπλή Πρόσβαση με διαίρεση Κώδικα Πολλαπλού Φέροντος (Multi-Carrier Code Division Multiple Access MC-CDMA). Η εφαρμογή του Γρήγορου Μετασχηματισμού Φουριέ (Fast Fourier Transform,FFT) που βασίζεται στο (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing, OFDM) χρησιμοποιεί τις περίπλοκες λειτουργίες βάσεως και αντικαθίσταται από κυματομορφές για να μειώσει το επίπεδο της παρεμβολής. Έχει βρεθεί ότι οι μετασχηματισμένες κυματομορφές (Wavelet Transform,W.T.) που βασίζονται στον Haar είναι ικανές να μειώσουν το ISI και το ICI, που προκαλούνται από απώλειες στην ορθογωνιότητα μεταξύ των φερόντων, κάτι που τις καθιστά απλούστερες για την εφαρμογή από του FFT. Επιπλέον κέρδος στην απόδοση μπορεί να επιτευχθεί αναζητώντας μια εναλλακτική λειτουργία ορθογωνικής βάσης και βρίσκοντας ένα καλύτερο μετασχηματισμό από του Φουριέ (Fourier) και τον μετασχηματισμό κυματομορφής (Wavelet Transform). Στην παρούσα εργασία, υπάρχουν τρία προτεινόμενα μοντέλα. Το 1ο, ( A proposed Model ‘1’ of OFDM based In-Place Wavelet Transform), το 2ο, A proposed Model ‘2’ based In-Place Wavelet Transform Algorithm and Phase Matrix (P.M) και το 3ο, A proposed Model ‘3’ of MC-CDMA Based on Multiwavelet Transform. Οι αποδόσεις τους συγκρίθηκαν με τα παραδοσιακά μοντέλα μονού χρήστη κάτω από διαφορετικά κανάλια (Κανάλι AWGN, επίπεδη διάλειψη και επιλεκτική διάλειψη).The demand for high data rate wireless multi-media applications has increased significantly in the past few years. The wireless user’s pressure towards faster communications, no matter whether mobile, nomadic, or fixed positioned, without extra cost is nowadays a reality. To fulfill these demands, a new scheme which combines wireless digital modulation and multiple accesses was proposed in the recent years, namely, Multicarrier-Code Division Multiple Access (MC-CDMA). The Fourier based OFDM uses the complex exponential bases functions and it is replaced by wavelets in order to reduce the level of interference. It is found that the Haar-based wavelets are capable of reducing the ISI and ICI, which are caused by the loss in orthogonality between the carriers. Further performance gains can be made by looking at alternative orthogonal basis functions and finding a better transform rather than Fourier and wavelet transform. In this thesis, there are three proposed models [Model ‘1’ (OFDM based on In-Place Wavelet Transform, Model ‘2’ (MC-CDMA based on IP-WT and Phase Matrix) and Model ‘3’ (MC-CDMA based on Multiwavelet Transform)] were created and then comparison their performances with the traditional models for single user system were compared under different channel characteristics (AWGN channel, flat fading and selective fading). The conclusion of my study as follows, the models (1) was achieved much lower bit error rates than traditional models based FFT. Therefore these models can be considered as an alternative to the conventional MC-CDMA based FFT. The main advantage of using In-Place wavelet transform in the proposed models that it does not require an additional array at each sweep such as in ordered Fast Haar wavelet transform, which makes it simpler for implementation than FFT. The model (2) gave a new algorithm based on In-Place wavelet transform with first level processing multiple by PM was proposed. The model (3) gave much lower bit error than other two models in additional to traditional models

Signal processing techniques for mobile multimedia systems

Recent trends in wireless communication systems show a significant demand for the delivery of multimedia services and applications over mobile networks - mobile multimedia - like video telephony, multimedia messaging, mobile gaming, interactive and streaming video, etc. However, despite the ongoing development of key communication technologies that support these applications, the communication resources and bandwidth available to wireless/mobile radio systems are often severely limited. It is well known, that these bottlenecks are inherently due to the processing capabilities of mobile transmission systems, and the time-varying nature of wireless channel conditions and propagation environments. Therefore, new ways of processing and transmitting multimedia data over mobile radio channels have become essential which is the principal focus of this thesis. In this work, the performance and suitability of various signal processing techniques and transmission strategies in the application of multimedia data over wireless/mobile radio links are investigated. The proposed transmission systems for multimedia communication employ different data encoding schemes which include source coding in the wavelet domain, transmit diversity coding (space-time coding), and adaptive antenna beamforming (eigenbeamforming). By integrating these techniques into a robust communication system, the quality (SNR, etc) of multimedia signals received on mobile devices is maximised while mitigating the fast fading and multi-path effects of mobile channels. To support the transmission of high data-rate multimedia applications, a well known multi-carrier transmission technology known as Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) has been implemented. As shown in this study, this results in significant performance gains when combined with other signal-processing techniques such as spa ce-time block coding (STBC). To optimise signal transmission, a novel unequal adaptive modulation scheme for the communication of multimedia data over MIMO-OFDM systems has been proposed. In this system, discrete wavelet transform/subband coding is used to compress data into their respective low-frequency and high-frequency components. Unlike traditional methods, however, data representing the low-frequency data are processed and modulated separately as they are more sensitive to the distortion effects of mobile radio channels. To make use of a desirable subchannel state, such that the quality (SNR) of the multimedia data recovered at the receiver is optimized, we employ a lookup matrix-adaptive bit and power allocation (LM-ABPA) algorithm. Apart from improving the spectral efficiency of OFDM, the modified LM-ABPA scheme, sorts and allocates subcarriers with the highest SNR to low-frequency data and the remaining to the least important data. To maintain a target system SNR, the LM-ABPA loading scheme assigns appropriate signal constella tion sizes and transmit power levels (modulation type) across all subcarriers and is adapted to the varying channel conditions such that the average system error-rate (SER/BER) is minimised. When configured for a constant data-rate load, simulation results show significant performance gains over non-adaptive systems. In addition to the above studies, the simulation framework developed in this work is applied to investigate the performance of other signal processing techniques for multimedia communication such as blind channel equalization, and to examine the effectiveness of a secure communication system based on a logistic chaotic generator (LCG) for chaos shift-keying (CSK)

End to end architecture and mechanisms for mobile and wireless communications in the Internet

Architecture et mécanismes de bout en bout pour les communications mobiles et sans fil dans l'Internet. La gestion performante de la mobilité et l'amélioration des performances des couches basses sont deux enjeux fondamentaux dans le contexte des réseaux sans fil. Cette thèse apporte des solutions originales et innovantes qui visent à répondre à ces deux problématiques empêchant à ce jour d'offrir des possibilités de communication performantes et sans couture aux usagers mobiles accédant à l'Internet via des réseaux d'accès locaux sans fil (WLAN). Ces solutions se distinguent en particulier par l'impact minimum qu'elles ont sur les protocoles standards de l'Internet (niveaux transport et réseau) ou de l'IEEE (niveaux physique et liaison de données). S'inscrivant dans les paradigmes de "bout en bout" et "cross-layer", notre architecture permet d'offrir des solutions efficaces pour la gestion de la mobilité : gestion de la localisation et des handover en particulier. En outre, nous montrons que notre approche permet également d'améliorer l'efficacité des transmissions ainsi que de résoudre efficacement plusieurs syndromes identifiés au sein de 802.11 tels que les anomalies de performance, l'iniquité entre les flux et l'absence de contrôle de débit entre la couche MAC et les couches supérieures. Cette thèse résout ces problèmes en combinant des modèles analytiques, des simulations et de réelles expérimentations. Ces mécanismes adaptatifs ont été développés et intégrés dans une architecture de communication qui fournit des services de communication à haute performance pour réseaux sans fils tels que WIFI et WIMAX. ABSTRACT : Wireless networks, because of the potential pervasive and mobile communication services they offer, are becoming the dominant Internet access networks. However, the legacy Internet protocols, still dominant at that time, have not been designed with mobility and wireless in mind. Therefore, numerous maladjustments and “defaults of impedance” can be observed when combining wireless physical and MAC layers with the traditional upper layers. This thesis proposes several solutions for a pacific coexistence between these communication layers that have been defined and designed independently. Reliable mobility management and Low layer performance enhancements are two main challenging issues in the context of wireless networks. Mobility management (which is mostly based on mobile IP architecture nowadays) aims to continuously assign and control the wireless connections of mobile nodes amongst a space of wireless access networks. Low layer performance enhancements mainly focus on the transmission efficiency such as higher rate, lower loss, interference avoidance. This thesis addresses these two important issues from an original and innovative approach that, conversely to the traditional contributions, entails a minimum impact on the legacy protocols and internet infrastructure. Following the “end to end” and “cross layer” paradigms, we address and offer efficient and light solutions to fast handover, location management and continuous connection support through a space of wireless networks. Moreover, we show that such an approach makes it possible to enhance transmission efficiency and solve efficiently several syndromes that plague the performances of current wireless networks such as performance anomaly, unfairness issues and maladjustment between MAC layer and upper layers. This thesis tackles these issues by combining analytical models, simulations and real experiments. The resulting mechanisms have been developed and integrated into adaptive mobility management communication architecture that delivers high performing communication services to mobile wireless systems, with a focus on WIFI and WIMAX access networks